NEWS

FCC Commissioner disparages Trump’s social media order: ‘The decision is ours alone’

Published

4 years ago

June 17, 2020

fcc commissioner disparages trumps social media order the decision is ours alone

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks has examined the president’s executive order that attempts to spur the FCC into action against social media companies and found it wanting. “There are good reasons for the FCC to stay out of this debate,” he said. “The decision is ours alone.”

The order targets Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which ensures that platforms like Facebook and YouTube aren’t liable for illegal content posted to them, as long as they are making efforts to take them down in accordance with the law.

Some in government feel these protections go too far and have led to social media companies suppressing free speech. Trump himself clearly felt suppressed when Twitter placed a fact-check warning on unsupported claims of fraud in mail-in voting, leading directly to the order.

Starks gave his take on the topic in an interview with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a left-leaning think tank that pursues tech-related issues. While he is just one of five commissioners and the FCC has yet to consider the order in any official sense, his words have weight, as they indicate serious legal and procedural objections to it.

“The executive order definitely gets one thing right, and that is that the president cannot instruct the FCC to do this or anything else,” he said. “We’re an independent agency.”

He was careful to make clear that he doesn’t think the law is perfect — just that this method of changing it is completely unjustified.

“The broader debate about section 230 long predates President Trump’s conflict with Twitter in particular, and there are so many smart people who believe the law here should be updated,” he explained. “But ultimately that debate belongs to Congress. That the president may find it more expedient to influence a five-member commission than a 538-member Congress is not a sufficient reason, much less a good one, to circumvent the constitutional function of our democratically elected representatives.”

The Justice Department has entered the picture as well, offering its own recommendations for changing Section 230 today — though like the White House, Justice has no power to directly change or invent responsibilities for the FCC.

Some legislators have likewise begun floating potential bills, but none is anywhere near being signed into law.

Fellow Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel echoed his concerns, paraphrasing an earlier statement on the order: “Social media can be frustrating, but turning the FCC into the President’s speech police is not the answer.”

After detailing some of the legal limitations of the FCC, Section 230 and the difficulty and needlessness of narrowly defining “good faith” actions, Starks concluded that the order simply doesn’t make a lot of sense in their context.

“The first amendment allows social media companies to censor content freely in ways the government never could, and it prohibits the government from retaliating against them for that speech,” he said. “So much — so much — of what the president proposes here seems inconsistent with those core principles, making an FCC rulemaking even less desirable.”

“The worst case scenario, the one that burdens the proper functioning of our democracy, would be to allow the laxity here to bestow some type of credibility on the executive order, one that threatens certainly a new regulatory regime upon internet service providers with no credible legal support,” he continued.

Having said that, he acknowledged that the order does mean that some action should take place at the FCC — it may just not be the kind of resolution Trump wishes.

“I’m calling to press [the National Telecommunications Industry Association] to send the petition as quickly as possible. I see no reason why they should need more than 30 days from the executive order’s issuance itself so we can get on with it, have the FCC review it and vote,” he said. “And if, as I suspect it ultimately will, the petition fails at a legal question of authority, I think we should say it loud and clear, and close the book on this unfortunate detour. Let us avoid an upcoming election season can use a pending proceeding to, in my estimation, intimidate private parties.”

A lot of this is left to Chairman Ajit Pai, who has fairly consistently fallen in line with the administration’s wishes. And if the eagerness of Commissioner Carr is any indicator, the Republican members of the Commission are happy to respond to the president’s “call for guidance.”

So far there has been no official announcement of FCC business relating to the executive order, but if the NTIA moves quickly, we could hear about it as early as next month’s open meeting.

TechCrunch

Up Next

Instagram Tests Shopping Tags in Post Captions

Don't Miss

Facebook Launches Voting Information Center, and New Option to Opt-Out of Political Ads

NEWS

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

Published

1 month ago

August 21, 2024

Max

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.

Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.

Why Fine-Tuning Matters

GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.

Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.

Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:

Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.

Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.

Implications for the Future

The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.

By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.

OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.

As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

3 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

Published

6 months ago

March 20, 2024

Max

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.